Prius to become its own brand?
12 Mar, 2008
19 Comments 
Hundreds of millions of dollars later, the word Prius is now synonymous with images of green trees and happy Penguins, so it’s no wonder that Toyota is considering making a whole new brand actually called Prius.
It makes sense, of course, with the company already working on a hybrid variant of every model, perhaps selling them under the Prius brand makes more marketing-sense to the customers? Prius Camry? Prius RAV4…? How does that sound? At least you’ll know it’s a hybrid.
“We are studying that, but I can’t say what stage of the study we are in,” Kazuo Okamoto, Toyota Motor Corp.’s executive vice president for r&d, said in an interview with AutoNews Europe. “I do think it is a reasonable direction.”
Although likely, there is no official word on selling other Toyota hybrid cars under the Prius brand, instead Mr Okamoto is more interested in using the Prius platform for other variations - such coupes, sedans or wagons.
The Japanese giant made a very smart decision early on by having a dedicated model for its hybrid car, while Honda, arguably Toyota’s biggest competitor in the hybrid game, suffered from using a standard Civic as its platform.
Last year Toyota managed to sell 281,000 Prius cars with 181,221 of them sold in the US.
Would Prius work as its own brand?
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March 12th, 2008 at 3:53 am
It makes excellent sense. why not have a sole hybrid brand? more people are likely to buy a Prius camry than a toyota camry hybrid - and by now everyone can already associate prius with toyota and hence with reliability etc.
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March 12th, 2008 at 3:55 am
Good idea, or what about Toyota Camry Prius? Instead of hybrid? Or is that even more confusing.
By the way, when the hell are we getting a Camry Hybrid and Aurion Hybrid, surely if Ford n Holden are stupid enough to have waited this long for a diesel powerplant, Toyota should have at least jumped the gun and had a hybrid variant out.
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March 12th, 2008 at 8:10 am
Maybe this was their plan all along. Think about it. The Prius car was just testing the water and making a brand for itself. A lot like Kleenex and Hoover.
SteveC
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March 12th, 2008 at 10:10 am
I think this is jumping the gun a bit. They can’t even give you a choice of body styles yet.
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March 12th, 2008 at 10:16 am
I wish I had placed a bet on this!
# Lcat Says:
January 22nd, 2008 at 5:23 am
I doubt if BMW is the only manufacturer thinking about creating a ‘green’ brand under the corporate umbrella.
My bet is Toyota will do the same & elevate Prius to become a distinct brand name that will spawn a whole range of hybrid vehicles.
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March 12th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Some reports suggest that people refer to Hybrid cars as Prius not Hybrid so it could work..toyota has been talking about this idea for sometime now.
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March 12th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
honda and bmw have already released limited number of hydrogen powered cars in US so whats the point with hybrids which is less efficient than diesel.
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March 12th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Hey TP! looks like you might have to change your name to “TPP”
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March 12th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Good to see you on topic as usual OZ…
Rocket - hydrogen, at least with current technology, isn’t any more feasible then any other solution. For starters how do you propose to store hydrogen long term? A little bit or research will reveal it’s not as simple as some may believe. And then there’s the manufacturing process - which oddly enough requires energy.
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March 12th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Okay “Titan” On topic now…
Prius Camry, Prius Land Cruiser, e.t.c Would be Toyota’s hybrid subsidiary, while TRD (TRD Aurion, TRD Hilux, e.t.c) would be Toyota’s sports subsidiary.
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March 12th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
I like the idea of Prius as a model variant as opposed to new brand… Toyota Camry Prius, Toyota Kluger Prius, Toyota Aurion Prius… actually sounds quite good with most Toyota models.
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March 12th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
The Toyota marketing juggernaut has achieved what it set out to do. Created a “TRENDY GREEN BRAND” with dubious credentials. Lap it up suckers as they rub their clammy little hands together.
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March 13th, 2008 at 7:19 am
The same suckers who will by a hybrid or plug in from BMW, MB, Honda, Ford or GM.
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March 13th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
from a marketing stand point its a great move.
now when ever people think hybrid they think prius. it is already working for toyota now.
as already touched on it exactlly what hoover and kleenex have created.
the same can be said for Bobcat.
how many people know that “Bobcat” isnt the name of the machine but rather a model name that only one of many manufacturer use. yet every one still calls it a bobcat whether it is a “Huski” or “Case” or “New Holland” etc etc
now anything that is hybrid will be socially termed a “Prius” due to toyotas masterfull branding even if it is a Honda for eg
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March 13th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Sounds good in theory. Except for one problem - Prius LandCruiser. Its like trying to add -1 and 1… all you get is 0. You go and put a name that has this “green” association with it next to the very opposite. I fail to see how putting the Prius name infront of LandCruiser creates a “green” marketing image. But for just about all of Toyota’a other models I think it would work eg Camry and Corolla
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March 13th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
When i think Prius, yes i think Hybrid.
But even more, i think Ugly
The range of toyotas now are bland to say the least, but if we put a prius badge on them will toyota hit them with the ugly stick.
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March 15th, 2008 at 1:23 am
Does this mean the Toyota Prius will be called the Toyota Prius Prius.
Its a bloody idea but expensive creating another brand alongside non-hybrid cars. It could get confusing to some peeps as well.
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March 16th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
From Big Al,
Guys, go and check out the Toyota US web site. A hybrid Camry already exists (and a Highlander/Kluger). All Toyota OZ has to do is a simple parts bin exercise, the US drive-train and batteries married to the Aust. right-hand drive. Well maybe not quite that simple but much easier than Holden or Ford’s engineering effort required to produce a hybrid.
Also it has not been aimed only at fuel economy. The 0-100 (that’s 0-60mph) time is 8.4 seconds which is pretty much line ball with the VE Commodore Omega 4 speed Auto but with fuel economy of about 6.6 l/100k.
How’s this for naming, Prius-C for Camry, Prius-B for the existing Prius, Prius-S for a Supra version etc.
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March 16th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
If ever the Prius brand will commence, cars aren’t likely to be called Camry, Corolla, etc., as much as Lexus uses letters and numbers for their models, and Scion two letters (one lower and one upper case). I guess the names will sound robotic with codes to emphasise the advance technology in hybrid cars.
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